Brownfields Initiative Grant

Funds Available for Brownfield Assessments

The Environmental Protection Agency awarded the City of Arcata a $300,000 grant to perform brownfield assessments - testing sites where historical use is known to have caused contamination, or site which are perceived to be contaminated. Assessment is the first step in making plans to remediate the site. The grant can only be used for testing and cleanup plans. It cannot be used for actual cleanup.

Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under used industrial and commercial facilities or sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Brownfields can be in urban, suburban, or rural areas. The EPA's Brownfields Initiative is designed to help communities mitigate potential health risks and restore the economic viability of such areas or properties.

The $300,000 grant is valid from October, 2017 through the end of September, 2020. The City used a competitive bidding process to select SHN Engineers and Geologists (see their Statement of Qualifications). SHN will perform California Environmental Quality Act sampling.

A Brownfields Stakeholder Group was formed by interested parties. This group, comprised of local business owners, private citizens, realtors, and non-profits, holds public meetings to assist the City in developing criteria to rank sites.

The State of California's GeoTracker is a great resource to find records for sites that require cleanup. It provides information about the type of cleanup and current status. Another targeted resource is theDepartment of Toxic Substances Control site (ENVIROSTOR) for Arcata.